About

Chilling Tales for Dark Nights is a popular horror-themed audio
storytelling series and YouTube channel produced
by Chilling Entertainment, created in late 2012 by lifelong scary stories
fanatic Craig Groshek,
and produced by a multinational team of independent authors, sound designers,
composers, illustrators and voice over artists. The series is known for its
immersive high-quality enhanced audio book style productions, which feature
full casts, professional voice acting, exceptional sound effects and original
cinematic scores.

As of February 2017, the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights YouTube channel has released more than
800 audio productions, and is followed by 170,000+ subscribers, and has accumulated
nearly 18 million views. Its programs have been prominently featured on the Dark
Matter Radio Network and
the world’s largest podcast network, PodcastOne, and its adaptations of horror classics
have been utilized for educational purposes in classrooms around the world, and
as part of the Washington, DC-based SeeNoSun Literacy Project.

Having worked diligently to bring radio
theater “back from the dead” for more than 4 years, the team behind the audio
excellence of Chilling Tales for Dark Nights and
the critically-acclaimed Simply Scary Podcast are
determined to take their high-quality audio productions to the new level, by
producing the world’s first-ever fully-animated horror anthology television
series.

Once successfully funded, any episodes
produced will be distributed to campaign backers, as well as used to
demonstrate the potential of the series to networks such as Netflix, Amazon,
SyFy Channel and others.

On account of its anthology-style formatting
and penchant for psychological terror and suspense, Chilling
Tales for Dark Nights is compared frequently to spiritual predecessors
such as Tales From the Crypt, The Twilight Zone, Are You Afraid of the Dark?,
Penny Dreadful, and Black Mirror. In spite of these comparisons, however,
CTFDN’s animated incarnation will be unique in its field in several ways:

Notably, the Chilling
Tales for Dark Nights animated series, upon its release, will be the
first series of its kind which could truly be considered a product of the
Internet age. Drawing together talent from across the English-speaking world,
including the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia, the
collaborative effort pulls together the myriad contributions of countless
talents spread throughout the globe – the majority of whom have never set foot
in the same room together, or so much as spoken in person.

Like its audio entertainment productions, the
animated series will rely not on multimillion-dollar studios and Hollywood
celebrities, but on the incredible talents of a veritably unknown,
widely-dispersed community of underappreciated and remarkably creative
individuals owing no allegiance to any corporate studio or media entity.

A proud contributing member of the online
horror fiction and creepypasta communities, Chilling Tales
for Dark Nights and its producers take great pride in the fact that
theirs will be the first of its kind to feature an original cast comprised
entirely of independent voice over artists, and to rely exclusively on the
written works of indie, unpublished authors for its episodic adaptations.

Our immediate goal is to produce one or more high-quality animated horror productions suitable for public release, which can also be utilized as part of a major network pitch, which demonstrate the technical and artistic/creative capabilities of our team of producers and voice over artists.

Our ultimate goal is to fund as many original episodes of Chilling Tales for Dark Nights as possible, either in an animated graphic novel style, or in a fully animated style, depending on funding, and to release those episodes first to our campaign backers, and then to the general public. The more money we raise, the more episodes we'll be able to make (and the better the animation!).

Full animation is exceptionally time-consuming, and thus expensive. Therefore, our initial goal is a modest one: to fund the production of a single animated graphic novel-style adaptation (similar to this music video) of an existing CTFDN audio production, “The Scarecrow Corpse," written by independent author Kristopher Mallory, and featuring a collaboration with 16+ million-subscriber YouTube Let’s Play gaming personality Markiplier. The original audio production can be heard as part of a compilation here:

"The Scarecrow Corpse" Poster Concept Art

Funding beyond the initial goal will be applied first toward the production of a 100% original 15-minute pilot episode penned by online horror fiction and creepypasta legend Matt Dymerski, author of the wildly popular, top-rated and frequently adapted tale, “Psychosis.” The pilot episode’s story will be written exclusively for the series and will have never been heard or released elsewhere.

The Matt Dymerski pilot episode, currently in the writing stage, will be adapted for television by Boise, Idaho-based writer Joshua L. Hood, a frequent collaborator with CTFDN responsible for stories such as “A Truck Stop Horror” and “False Prophet.”Whether the pilot is done in an animated graphic novel style (more on this below) or in a fully animated style depends entirely on the funding we receive.

$160K will allow us enough funding to cast Robert Englund (the actor who portrayed Freddy Krueger) - in a significant role in the pilot. We are in negotiations with Mr. Englund's representatives already, and are in the process of receiving final quotes.

Should both the “The Scarecrow Corpse” and the pilot episode be produced, and Mr. Englund's involvement confirmed, further funds will go toward the production of additional episodes, to be either fully animated or done in an animated graphic novel style, depending on the total funds received. The length of those episodes will also depend on the funding available.

Production of the first two episodes has begun already, with storyboards, script drafts and character design art having been created. All that is needed is the funding necessary to compensate those involved with the project, and once that funding is received, production in earnest will begin. The first two episodes (or more) are expected to be released in 2017, with future episodes released on a timetable yet to be determined.

As an independent
entertainment production company, Chilling Entertainment requires either
outside investors or advertising-derived funding to produce all of its programs.

The team and plan we have assembled together provide a unique vision and a
quality of storytelling and animation that we and our fans can be proud of. We
want to blow you away, and it is increasingly difficult to attain that level of
excellence with traditional partnerships, especially for a new intellectual
property.

The process of rounding up
industry investors to provide the amount of financial support necessary to
produce a world-class animated series would take a long time – years, usually.
Furthermore, funding a project of this size and scope with inconsistent,
unreliable and constantly fluctuating advertising revenue is impractical.

If investors were to be
involved to help fund the production of our animated series, those companies
would undoubtedly want a say in how the series is made. Inevitably, we would be
micromanaged, subjected to scrutiny, and a portion, if not all, of our
creative control would be sacrificed to those bankrolling the project.

Crowd-funding the animated series through Kickstarter is not only the
fastest way to bring you an animated series of Chilling Tales
for Dark Nights, but also the best way to preserve the artistic vision of
our illustrators, animators, authors, production team and voice talent. This
method also allows us to retain creative independence and 100% of our
intellectual property rights.

All the while, Kickstarter provides you – the fans – with a unique opportunity
to help make possible a show you’ll love, produced by the dyed-in-the-wool
horror fanatics responsible for the Simply Scary Podcast! We know you, as fans
of the horror genre, have an interest in seeing something like this happen – and
we love the idea that our fans will be involved and given the opportunity to
help the series progress!

The successful funding of this – our first Kickstarter campaign – will also
pave the way for us to expand our current programs and build upon the existing
Chilling Tales for Dark Nights universe, perhaps including gaining the ability
to work on additional series, or allow us to delve into other industries, such as
publishing and video games. The sky is the limit!

Based on listener feedback, we endeavor to produce an
anthology series. With possible exceptions, each episode will feature a single
enclosed story. However, we cannot and will not rule out an occasional
“two-parter” or mini-series of episodes. This format will be reminiscent of live-action spiritual precursors such as Tales From the Crypt, The Twilight
Zone, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Penny Dreadful and Black Mirror.

With that said, we endeavor to produce something totally original, which
reflects the collaboration between the many individuals involved with our
project, each of whom have their own preferences and influences.

The series will be 2D, with a hand-drawn look and feel. The art style fans of ours told us they preferred was David
Romero's, particularly that of “Other Lily” and "Midnight Snack." You can view Romero's short film collection here:

Romero is an exceptionally gifted illustrator and animator, capable of producing a myriad of styles, as is evident from his DeviantArt gallery.

Romero’s art style, coupled with the clean, professional look
and feel of the work of his female counterpart, Giselle Rosser, will add a passion and expression to the characters in our
episodes, which is guaranteed to match or rival the work of large corporate
studios. More of Rosser’s animation and illustration work can be
seen on her Tumblr.

Fans were also partial to the artistic feel of Stephen Gammell’s work, which was featured in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkbook series. As these books are favorites of series creator Craig Groshek and many of our voice artists, not to mention our illustrators, it is likely Gammell’s style will make it into the series.

Lastly, the work of Bo Mathorne (producer of “The Backwater Gospel”) was highly prized by fans. Mathorne, based internationally, has spoken with our team and has agreed to become involved when it becomes necessary. Mathorne, like Romero and Rosser, is a remarkable multi-medium artist, capable of producing many styles. Mathorne’s animated graphic novel-style production of the music video for “Psalms of Withering” has been an inspiration to our entire team. More of Mathorne's stylistic capabilities can be seen on his blog.

Our artistic team also takes inspiration from popular horror films such as Se7enand those in the Sawseries, as well as from horror-genre anime programs such as Yamishibai (Theater of Darkness).

Our ultimate goal is to match the quality of popular animated programs as seen on Netflix and other major networks, while retaining the look, feel and atmosphere of live-action horror films. You can expect our characters to be incredibly human in appearance, with expressions that project life-like passion, and our creatures to be monstrous, terrifying and nightmare-inducing.

SO... WHAT'S AN ANIMATED GRAPHIC NOVEL, AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A FULLY ANIMATED FILM?

Simply put, an animated graphic novel is similar to an animatic (a rough, storyboard-like animation generally used to pitch a film concept to a studio), but far more polished and professional-looking.

An "animated graphic novel" is about 85% of the way to full animation. Unlike a fully-animated feature, this style does not incorporate full-frame animation. As a result, it is far less time-consuming to produce, yet manages to attain a professional appearance. These pared down productions may also feature added effects, such as wind, rain and snow, in order to accentuate the simplified environments.

Not familiar with the world of animatics? Take a look at our own, for "The Scarecrow Corpse," here:

If you'd like to get an idea as to what an "animated graphic novel" version of our animatic could look like, imagine the above, but with high-quality illustration, fluid motion, and special effects, as in this Bo Mathorne-produced music video:

Or consider this Silver Fish Creative film, which was successfully used to pitch an animated film to Neil Gaiman himself:

The ultimate goal, of course, is to produce fully-animated episodes, and we intend to do so, if we generate enough funds to do so, or if the series is picked up by a major network willing to fund it on a corporate level after we've made our pitch.

An animated graphic novel approach to our first production still offers tremendous benefits, however, as it will allow us to produce our initial film far more quickly and with a modest budget, while still allowing our artistic team to show off its capabilities.

SAMPLE ANIMATIC VIDEO

STORYBOARDS

Audio is our specialty. For years we've worked to combine great storytelling with stellar voice acting, custom sound effects and original scores to create immersive, engaging environments. But don't take our word for it. If you're unfamiliar with our work, listen to some of the playlists and compilations below to see who is behind the sound that makes these nightmares come to life.

MORE OF GISELLE ROSSER'S WORK

We at Chilling Tales for Dark Nights pride ourselves on being one of the most responsive, fan-friendly and interactive entertainment producers on the Internet and YouTube today. In keeping with that philosophy, we've all worked together to bring some truly amazing, one-of-a-kind rewards to those who opt to support our newest endeavor!

Whether you support us with $5 or with $5,000, you'll get some truly amazing things in exchange for that assistance! From backer-only updates and public displays of our appreciation (on our website, in the credits, or on our podcast), to custom wallpapers, a Kickstarter-only audio book or a complete collection of our existing audio productions, there's something for everyone, at every level of support!

As a big-league backer, you can expect to be treated to several livestream events, where you'll get to interact with our crew and cast, listening to us perform or illustrate live! Or, who knows? You might even get to name a character, get your likeness rendered into an episode, or get the opportunity to guest voice act! If you're an author, support us for a chance to get your story narrated or fully produced!

Below you'll find a few examples of our artistic prizes, but we encourage you to investigate the full range of prizes below, and along the sidebar, as some of them are quite intangible, but incredibly unique!

Thanks for your support!

Poster Concept Art

Final Poster Concept Art

Cover art for the Otis Jiry narrated audio book "Scary Stories Told in the Dark"

Custom Wallpaper Reward Examples

With production of additional 30-minute episodes, every aspect of the production process will be from scratch, or close to it. Stories will be custom, or adapted from existing material to a teleplay format. Voice over artists, composers and sound designers must be compensated. Preliminary artwork and designs must preclude the actual animation, as a natural part of the development and approval process.

The prices listed are relatively standard across the animation industry, and provide just compensation to everyone involved in the project.

$30,000 – TOTAL REQUIRED TO MEET INITIAL GOAL

$15,000 – 50% - Animation Production CostsThis is the budget for the actual design, direction, and animation of approximately 15-20 minutes of graphic novel style animation for the production of “The Scarecrow Corpse.” Funds to be paid directly to the members of the animation and illustration team involved in this phase.

$6,000 – 20% - Backer Rewards CostsThis is the budget for reward production and distribution (including shipping, if necessary).

$4,500 – 15% - Pre-Production CostsMoney we would like to recoup from investing our own funds in the pre-campaign production of rewards, preliminary artwork, animatics, trailers, sound design, voice over services and musical composition.

$1,500 – 5% - Operational and Overhead CostsBudget for operational and overhead costs such as payments to staff and independent contractors, web hosting and maintenance, promotional and marketing expenses related to the campaign, payment of bills related to the campaign, etc.

We understand some folks might
just be tapped out at the moment, but that doesn't mean you can't help the
cause! So please get out there and make some noise about our campaign.

Feel free to use the Kickstarter share tools – post to social media regularly!
Call friends, family and like-minded folks and tell them all about us! Or if you
really want to help, contact bloggers, sci-fi and horror websites, fan sites and
fan clubs, and rally them to the cause! Social media is incredibly powerful!

Whether you post, share, tweet, email or physically hand out flyers promoting our campaign, you can make all the difference!

Thank you!

Risks and challenges

Making great horror content is challenging, with or without animation! Our animated series endeavors to blend our existing audio and story writing capabilities with a new visual medium to create a cohesive experience. It takes time to iterate and expand on ideas, and to do things right. There is a reason many amazing, original films and animated features take years to be released, or never see the light of day at all.

The biggest risk is that our animated series will take longer to produce than anticipated. Potentially, we may generate enough funds to complete one leg of production, but not enough to fully complete the next. In the event of such a scenario, our plan would be to pool our remaining funds and partner with venture capitalists or other entities to get the series produced, or use whatever episodes did get funded to pitch a full series to the major networks on our own. This series is our livelihood, so we will do whatever it takes!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 50 or more
About US$ 50

Nightstalkers

Get everything in the $40 tier, plus:

• Digital download of the exclusive backers-only CTFDN audio book, Scary Stories Told in the Dark – which features 30 full-cast productions of the stories from Alvin Schwartz’s iconic collection of creepy folklore – as narrated by animated series host Otis Jiry and the rest of our voice over team!

• Digital download of an art book including storyboards, sketches, and character design art for the animated series!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Crypt Keepers

• Get a digital download of the CTFDN Ultimate Audio Pack, including HQ MP3 copies of every one of our CTFDN productions from the past 4+ years!

• Hardcover copy of the animated series companion anthology, with novelized versions of all of the tales to be adapted into episodes in our first season!

• Get you – or someone you know – rendered into a custom full color classic creepypasta character wallpaper image, illustrated by animator/illustrator David Romero! (includes your choice of Jeff the Killer, Slender Man, The Rake, Mr. Widemouth or the Russian Sleep Experiment)!

• Join animators/illustrators David Romero and Giselle Rosser in a live-streamed art production session, where you can watch art come to life before your eyes, and chat with the creators directly!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

Walking Dead

Get everything in the $100 tier, plus:

• Exclusive CTFDN animated series t-shirt, with designs voted on by backers, and illustrated by animated series designers David Romero and Giselle Rosser!

• Get invited to a private CTFDN Cast and Crew livestream event, hosted by series creators Craig Groshek and Jesse Cornett, featuring program host Otis Jiry and other members of the CTFDN voice talent team, answering your questions, chatting and performing live!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

Poltergeists

• Get your name written on a morgue nameplate in our visual adaptation of The Scarecrow Corpse!

• Custom one-of-a-kind illustrative of any scene/story of your choice, produced by series animator/illustrators David Romero and Giselle Rosser!

• Get invited to a private one-on-one interactive livestream event hosted by CTFDN animated series host Otis Jiry, where you’ll hear him perform live, and get the opportunity not just to chat via text, but call in to the vocal conversation and discuss whatever you like with Otis directly!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Skinwalkers

Get everything in the $500 tier, plus the first 5 people to donate at this amount or higher will get the opportunity to:

• Work with author Matt Dymerski to Write a Custom Story to be Performed by a Full Cast, Produced and Released on an Episode of The Simply Scary Podcast - no writing skills required, just your imagination!